Counter construction



March 1, 1938. P. H. MEYER COUNTER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 27, 1935 INVENTOR HER/P5 MEYER Patented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COUNTER CONSTRUCTION Pierre H. Meyer, New York, N. Y. Application July 27, 192i5, Serial No. 33,527

2 Claims.

This invention relates to counters, shelves or the like, and particularly to means for providing a stepped or raised portion on a counter or shelf for elevating the display of merchandise, preferably at the rear portion of a counter to render such merchandise more visible to the eyes of the purchaser; and the object of the invention is to provide a stepped or elevated counter unit which may be made up in long sections placed end to end, or end to side, informing the corner of a counter, each section consisting of a front up right board and a horizontal counter board and arear supporting strip, with means at spaced intervals longitudinally of the unit for supporting the horizontal counter board and strip in spaced relation above a surface upon which the unit is mounted; a-further object being to provide means at-the upper edge portion of the vertical board and the rear strip for supporting front and rear wall members in connection therewith to form closures for the front and rear portions of the upper counter board together with means centrally and longitudinally of the counter board for adjustably supporting a plurality of transverse partition walls between the front and back walls to divide the upper surface of the counter board into a plurality of compartments; a further object being to provide the front face of the vertical board with a longitudinal price card sup.- porting strip or channel; a further object being to utilize the stepped or elevated unit as a means for Wedging other counter partitions or sections upon the surface of a counter proper to maintain the entire assemblage in substantially rigid position; a still further object being to provide a supplemental stepped unit arranged forwardly of the first named unit and for dividing the depth of a counter into a plurality of raised counter surfaces to produce in conjunction with the first named stepped unit, a successive series of steps; and with these and other objects in view, the invention consists in a device of the class and for the purpose specified, which is simple in construction, and which isconstructed as more fully vention with parts of the construction broken Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view-of a part of the construction shown in Fig.- 1 on an enlarged scale.

For the purpose of illustrating one use of my invention, I have indicated in the accompanying a drawing at 5 the upper or face board of a counter having at its'forward end a facing or finishing strip 6 which projects above the top of the counter, and at the rear end thereof a finishing strip 1 which also projects above the top of the counter. Arranged upon the upper surface of the counter 5 are a plurality of facing boards or shams 8 of different sizes, these shams being spaced longitudinally as well as transversely of the counter and being divided by forwardly and backwardly extending partition plate 9 as well asshorterpartition plates It] to divide the upper surface of the counter into a plurality of compartments in which various types of merchandise may be stored and displayed. The shams also support a front wall member II in abutting relation with the front strip 6 to form a closure for the front or outermost compartments of the counter. This construction is more or less' of the conventional arrangement.

At I2, I have shown at the rear portion of the counter a stepped or elevated unit or supplemental counter unit, the purpose of which is to elevate the display of articles of merchandise at the rear portion of the counter to renderthe 0 visibility of the same more effective as well as to facilitate the storing and packing of merchandise. It is preferred that the merchandise placed on the unit l2 or the separate parts thereof be arranged in upright position, thus adapt- 3-5 ing this unit for the display of bottle goods, boxed and packaged goods which may be conveniently and practically arranged thereon.

At I3 I have shown another stepped unit which is designed to be arranged forwardly of the unit l2, and the width of which will govern the width of theseries of stepped compartments formed thereby. The unit I 3 is preferably arranged immediately forward of the unit l2 and consists of an upper step i3a and a lower step l3b, the 4 latter being arranged above the upper surface or sham of the counter proper so that in conjunction with the unit it, four distinct levels or heights of counter display will be formed;

Each unit I3 is enclosed on two sides and one 5 In one of the compartments formed by the several shams and partition walls, are arranged two wedges [4 which are employed to firmly support the several shams and partitions in a longitudinal direction upon the counter, whereas, I employ the unit l2 as a means for Wedging the several shams and partitions in a transversedirection upon the counter by utilizing V-shaped rubber wedges l5 which are placed between parts of the unit l2 and the rear finishing strip 1 as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

The unit l2 consists of a front vertical board or strip I 6, the upper edge portion of which is provided with a groove I! in which a front wall or panel I8 is adapted to be mounted. The outer wall IQ of the groove I1 is higher than the inner wall thereof so as to form a covering or shielding flange to cover the edge of a facing sheet or plate 20 which may be disposed upon the upper face of the horizontal or counter board 2| of the unit l2. The front face of the board l6 adjacent the upper end thereof is provided with a longitudinal groove lfia in which is arranged a channeled ticket supporting strip 22, in which price tickets may be arranged for display above the rear compartments of the counter to indicate the price of goods disposed in the compartments directly in front thereof.

At the rear edge of the shelf board 2! is a longitudinal strip 23 grooved in its upper surface as seen at 24 to receive a rear wall plate 25. The strip 23 also has a rear or outer flange 26 corresponding to the flange l9. At the ends of each section l2, and when long sections are employed, intermediate said ends, are supporting or bracing boards 21 of a contour conforming with the inner and/or lower surfaces of the boards l6, 2| and strip 23 as clearly seen upon a consideration of Fig. 2 of the drawing. The wedges l5 employed are disposed between the inner surfaces of these supports 21 and the finishing strip 1. With this construction, storage compartments will be formed within the units l2 which are accessible through the rear thereof or between the upper edge of the finishing strip '1 and the lower edge of the strip 23. These storage compartments may be utilized for storing bags, string or similar articles used for wrapping the merchandise sold, or in some cases, may be utilized for the storage of surplus merchandise.

Arranged centrally of the upper surface of the shelf board 2| is a longitudinal groove 28 in which is formed a partition wall supporting strip 29 having longitudinally spaced apertures 30 with which supporting brackets 3| are detachably coupled. The brackets serve to support the transverse partition walls or strips 32 in connection therewith. One of said strips is indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawing as well as in Fig. 2.

The entire unit l2 may be mounted upon the rear portion of a counter and shifted thereon longitudinally as well as transversely of the counter, especially in the wedging operation. When long counters are employed, it will be practical and desirable to make these units up in sections, the ends of which will abut. In the construction shown in Fig. l of the drawing, the section or unit I2a is show abutting the rear portion at one end of a section l2b at the point indicated by the line We in order to form the corner portion of a counter.

At the right of Fig. 1, I have shown one finished end of the section I2a from which it will appear that the end support 21a will extend to the upper surface of the counter board 2| and be grooved in the manner of grooving the board It and strip 23 as is indicated at 211) to receive an end panel or wall or wall portion 33. A similar end support 21a is employed on the section l2, this section difiering from the section I2a in that the upper surface of the strip 23 or the flange portion 26 thereof is cut away and the groove 24 is omitted where the section |2a abuts the section I2b= as at l2c. The wall portion I8 may extend from the corner of the section I2b continuously onto the section l2a, it being understood that the grooves supporting the wall l8 must be in alinement with each other.

The use of the compartment forming wall portions 32 on the stepped sections or units I2 is not essential, as different kinds of merchandise may be stored or placed thereon side by side, there being no real need for the forming of compartments which are designed more particularly to separate articles one from another when placed on a counter in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Any desired width or arrangement of the several compartments formed on the counter may be provided and any number of the supplemental stepped sections l3 may be employed which may also vary in the size thereof. The upper edges of the walls I8 and 25 may be utilized to support ticket holding plates or brackets for indicating the sale price of various articles supported on the sections I2 or in compartments arranged directly in front thereof.

The showing in Fig. 1 of the drawing is merely illustrative of certain methods of carrying my invention into effect and the arrangement of the counter structure and use of the elevated counter sections may be varied. The transverse dimensions of the elevated sections may be increased or decreased in proportion to the counter upon which the same is employed to suit the desires of the store keep. By using a sham at the rear portions of the sections or units l2, the storage of articles may be elevated at the back of said sections with respect to the forward or front portions thereof.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. An elevated counter unit for the rear portion of a merchandise display counter, said unit comprising a top board, a front facing board, a rear finishing strip and a plurality of longitudinally spaced vertical brace members arranged at and intermediate the ends of said unit and beneath the top board and rearwardly of said front board, said unit being of a length substantially equal to the length of an average counter section, the upper end of the front board being secured to and covering the front edge of the top board, the lower edge of the front board being in alignment with the lower edges of said brace members, said strip being secured to and covering the rear edge of the top board, the upper edges of the front board and said strip having longitudinal grooves throughout the length thereof, the outer walls of said grooves being of greater heighth than the inner walls and said inner walls being flush with the upper surface of the top board, and said grooves forming means for supporting upwardly extending strips forming front and rear walls for said top board.

2. An elevated counter unit for the rear portion of a merchandise display counter, said unit comprising a top board, a front facing board, a rear finishing strip and a plurality of longitudinally spaced vertical brace members arranged at and intermediate the ends of said unit and beneath the top board and rearwardly of said front board,

said unit being of a length substantially equal to the length of an average counter section, the upper end of the front board being secured to and covering the front edge of the top board, the lower edge of the front board being in alignment with the lower edges of said brace members, said strip being secured to and covering the rear edge of the top board, the upper edges of the front board and said strip having longitudinal grooves throughout the length thereof, the outer walls of said grooves being of greater heighth than the inner walls and said inner walls being flush with the upper surface of the top board, said grooves forming means for supporting upwardly extending strips forming front and rear walls for said top board, the upper surface of the top board having a groove centrally and longitudinally throughout the length thereof, an apertured coupling strip arranged in said last mentioned groove, and means adjustably mounted on said apertured strip for supporting partitions on the 'top board intermediate said front and rear walls.

PIERRE I-I. MEYER. 

